Such beautiful ash
by diesector21
Summary: 2047. Holly walks home through a war-torn wasteland, and hope trudges along with her. Songfic: Ash Like Snow - the brilliant green


**A/N:** This fic might make you sad, might make you feel awkward, whatever. This is also the first AF songfic ever to use a Japanese song, as far as I know. If you can guess what the setting is based on, you get a cookie!

Oh, by the way, I'm not Japanese. I just like Gundam 00.

**Pairing: **Slight Holly/Trouble, since it kinda fits here.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Artemis Fowl, or the setting in which this story is used for. The setting belongs to nindra, Matt, and Voldy (I think).

**Song:** Ash Like Snow – the brilliant green

**Dedication**: To nindra, for making HCS so kick-ass. XD

--

_"War does not determine who is right - only who is left"_

_-Burtrand Russell_

--

**sora akaku someru kokutan no yami **_(The sky is dyed red by the ebony darkness)_**  
nomikomareta hoshikuzu-tachi **_(And the distant stardust swallowed up)_**  
hakanaku furitsumoru hai no yuki **_(In this transient moment as the snowing ashes fall)_

Holly stepped out of the building and walked away, Neutrino 3000 dangling at her hip. She wasn't on duty, and the building wasn't LEP. The LEP hadn't existed for the past five years. No official organization, government or otherwise, hadn't existed for the past five years. Not since the recent success of the goblin's revolution.

It was 2047, and Haven City had basically gone from a utopia for fairies to a battleground in several weeks. As government control fell, the city turned into a free-for-all every-fairy-for-themselves combat zone. The body count was well over seven thousand, and the few survivors scattered around the forsaken city had formed their own factions. Even worse, during the revolution, there was a record amount of tourists coming over from Atlantis and other cities, which meant more people stuck in Haven City, caught in the crossfire.

**mitsumeta nageki no mado **_(I watched it through the window of grief)_**  
I never dreamed  
kooritsuku **_(I stand frozen)_**  
there… I come for you**

Holly walked through the empty streets, gunfire echoing through the avenues around her. Most of the LEP tried to contain the revolution, but it had spiralled out of control. Within days, the only Council member not dead was Vinyaya, and she had been transported to Atlantis with a LEP convoy. With no orders coming from the higher-ups, the LEP were forced to stand down.

"Hello there, elf, we'll be taking some gold from you, or we're going to have a nice elfin barbecue tonight," a reptilian voice emanated behind Holly. Without the slightest hint of hesitation, she drew her Neutrino 3000 and fired off three shots at the three goblins. All of them went down in an instant, considering Holly had kept her weapon on at the highest setting. It was unlikely that the goblins were going to live without treatment in the next three hours.

**omoi wa sekibaku no yozora ni **_(My hopes were alone in the desolate night sky) _**  
maiagari kudaketa **_(They soared high until they were crushed) _**  
kono sekai ga katachi wo kaeru tabi ni **_(Each time the world changes shape) _**  
mamoritai mono wo **_(The things I want to protect) _**  
kowashite shimatteitan da **_(I end up breaking them)_

Holly holstered her gun, and her gaze shifted up to the sunstrips, most of them burnt out. _Why did it come to this? _She had not contacted Artemis in four years, ever since he had his third child. _Obviously, he's worried about me. He knows about the revolution and the chaos surrounding Haven City_. As she kept staring, another thought pierced her mind. _My moral compass is working, but I'm sure as hell not following it…_

Neglecting her 'moral compass' for the umpteenth time in the past years, Holly strode over to the goblins' bodies and took their Redboy Softnose blasters. She needed some weaponry for her and Trouble Kelp's mercenary-like army. Over 600 men and women stood by their side. She also liberated the gold the goblins were carrying, which totalled to only six hundred ounces.

**kokoro ni hishimeku haitoku no yami **_(Oh, the sinful darkness tugging at my heartstrings)_**  
kimi no koe ga masui no youni **_(Your voice is like anaesthesia)_**  
tsumetaku kankaku wo ubatteku **_(Coldly, it robs me of my senses)_

At first, Holly refused to do this, but Trouble had convinced her otherwise. _We have no choice! _He yelled, _I know this doesn't seem right, but it is our only way of survival_. She had equally yelled back. _Is survival that much important to revoke everything we have inside? To deny our morals and beliefs just to live another day on this earth?_

She didn't want to fight. She cringed at the first shot she took at an attacker. But Holly loved Trouble too much to do anything wrong, and soon she realized that Trouble did not want to do this either. But…

**mujun wo oikakete mo** _(No matter how we pursue our differences)_**  
owaranai **_(It never ends)_**  
naze boku wa tatakau no? **_(Why do I have to fight?)_

Holly continued her walk home, wary of anybody willing to take potshots at her for her weapons or gold. She couldn't shield, considering she had spent out all her magic a year ago, and surface access was impossible. The scenes changed as she walked, but it didn't change much. Ruined buildings and gang signs seemed to not change when you don't pay attention.

Holly suddenly stopped, glancing over to her right. What she saw was another ruined building, but this time, it was different. This building, oddly as it may seemed, actually looked quite nice. Holly had never seen anything so beautiful in the past five years.

**tatoeba hikari ga kieusete** _(Even if the light is extinguished)_ **  
kono hoshi ga ochite mo **_(Even if this earth disintegrates)_**  
wasurenai yo** _(I won't ever forget:)_**  
sono chiisana negai ga **_(That tiny wish)_**  
aru beki basho eto michibiku** _(It will guide us to our ideal place)_

It was Spud's Spud Emporium. About six months ago, a band of dwarves had fiercely defended the building against an onslaught of fireballs and handguns from some goblins. They had failed, and lost their lives in the process of saving their favourite restaurant. Typical. The fire had eaten away at the foundation enough to topple the building. However, there was something weird going on with this building.

As the fast-food restaurant became a pile of rubble and ash, something magnificent happened. Out of chance, several grease containers had not been set on fire from the goblin assault, but when the building went down, the containers spilled their load onto the ash. It gave the appearance of glittering volcanic sand, and it caught Holly's eye almost immediately.

**There I come for you, yeah  
Ash like snow  
Is falling down from the sky  
Ash like snow  
Ash like snow  
Ash like snow  
Let me hear…  
Why I have to fight?**

Holly gazed at the sparkling ash for quite a while, lost in its captivating glint. She finally turned her gaze away. _Such beautiful ash…even destruction seems brilliant now_. Holly continued her walk, a bit more determined now to end this conflict of Haven City somehow. _It may seem impossible, but other things have been done before that was also considered impossible_.

Finally arriving at her house, now reinforced with ¾ inch titanium and a lot of defensive armaments, she inserted her chip into the feeder and placed her hand into the flux metal dish. The door whirred for a moment, and then opened, enunciating a nice _Welcome home, Holly Short_ for the residents of the house to hear.

**kono omoi wa sekibaku no yozora ni **_(My hopes were alone in the desolate night sky)_**  
maiagari kudaketa** _(They soared high until they were crushed)_**  
yami wo hiraku eikou to hikikae ni **_(In exchange for glory that triumphs over darkness)_**  
mamoru beki mono wo ushinatte kita** _(I have given up many things I sought to protect)_**  
(It's falling from your sky)  
munashisugiru **_(This is too futile)_**  
(Baby I come for you)**

Trouble Kelp turned off the monitor as Holly strode by. Almost unexpectedly, Holly gave him a kiss as he swivelled around on the computer chair. Blushing slightly, he broke the kiss. "Well, you're rather happy for someone who's in a citywide war," Trouble said. "Well, I saw something that…gave me hope. Hope for a better future, somehow," Holly responded in kind.

"Well, how was your meeting with the other Sisterhood members?" Trouble asked. Holly replied, "Good, OK, I guess. We may be having some discussions on a truce between us and the five demon warlords." "You mean that manzai person and his friends?" Trouble asked." "Yeah, those people. Oh yeah, I said hi to Azura for you," Holly said.

Holly sighed a bit, looking at the ruined cityscape that was Haven City. _Maybe…maybe these discussions will be the beginning of peace in Haven City again…_

**kudakechitta kakera ni kizutsuku tabi **_(Every time the scattered broken pieces cut me)_**  
tozasareta boku no kokoro wa** _(Deep down in my closed heart)_**  
tsuyoku naru koto wo erande** _(I choose to grow stronger)_**  
koko made kitan da** _(And I came this far)_

--

_"Any soldier worth his salt should be anti-war. And still, there are things_

_worth fighting for."_

_-General Norman Schwarzkopf_

--

**A/N:** Yeah, a little sad here. I'm good with this kind of stuff anyways, so don't expect some crazy comedy from me anyways. Make sure you R&R!


End file.
